


More Questions, Few Answers

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: For Family [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Complicated Relationships, Gen, Reunions, Uneasy Allies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 03:03:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7341961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leia is reunited with her father, and Winter makes note of things said, or unsaid. But, some are not happy with the change in power.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Questions, Few Answers

With the communication array delivered to Leia, and certain other individuals checked in on, Vader finally opened a comm to the commander of the 501st, up in orbit on the _Exactor_.

The man appeared in holo immediately. "Sir!"

"Is the ship firmly in our grasp, Commander?" he asked. "Has there been any difficulty?"

"Sir, we hold our ship, with only a one percent loss among the Fleet personnel," the Commander began. "Negotiations with the Fleet officers went smoothly, utilizing your evidence of the Emperor's double dealing. They have been in contact with other capital ships, and as of this time, all Fleet ships in orbit of Coruscant are under your command, my Lord."

Vader found himself pleased by that information. Trust his unit to go above and beyond, as he was almost certain those negotiations had been forceful and explicit. That it had warranted the Fleet members contacting their own and bringing them to his side was a secondary bonus. No doubt the Fleet sections out in the galaxy under various Moffs would fight… ahh, wait. Tarkin was not with the Fleet at Coruscant currently. He was unpopular with his men. No wonder their ships had defected to Vader's side already.

"Continue to monitor the situation. Those ships that have been provided the new security codes are to be treated as allies, unless I specifically give a command otherwise."

"Yes sir."

He cut the communication and opened one to the bridge of the _Exactor_. His Admiral there looked at him steadily, and Vader had long had a sense this man was loyal to the Fleet. So long as the Fleet survived, he didn't care who the main politician was.

"Admiral, I commend your good sense in listening to my men. Continue to hold the planet safe against those members of the Fleet who have not been corrected in their loyalty."

"Yes, Lord Vader. I have been informed that we are to cooperate with these ragtag ships carrying the codes we were supplied with." He looked faintly stricken by that idea. 

"Yes, Admiral. It is in no small part to the former Rebels that the duplicity of the Emperor has finally come to light," Vader said smoothly. He had found all evidence of Palpatine manufacturing the Clone War, and various shady deals to bring power to cartels through the galaxy in exchange for favors served, and given it to the Alliance for them to 'produce'.

"Ahh. Understood, Lord Vader. We shall continue to hold here."

That attended to, Vader opened a channel to Bail Organa's personal communicator, waiting more patiently than his usual wont until the man finally answered him.

"Yes, Lord Vader?" the man asked respectfully. It struck Vader that the probable reason for such politeness stemmed from the fact Leia was in his keeping, less than fear toward Vader himself. He was not certain what to do with that realization, either.

"If you have the ability to join me at my Tower today, it would be wise to do so," he said without anger or hostility. "Certain parties of interest would appreciate it. If you cannot, I suggest you make time to contact them on their personal frequency. It has been rerouted to the correct location now."

Even in the flickering holo, it was obvious how relieved the man looked. Had they truly thought Vader was holding the young Senator hostage, in the light of all he had done? He refused to grow angry; his reputation warranted such suspicion.

"I believe I can be there midday, Lord Vader," Bail told him. "We can discuss the next steps in the plan from there."

"Indeed."

+++++

Bail found the small beings that saw him to his daughter highly unnerving, but he kept his composure. When he entered the rooms where she was, she was the only person he had eyes for at first, striding quickly to her to hug her close. He had guessed that Vader was not with them yet to allow this moment… and he made himself swear not to antagonize the monster behind the mask.

"My beautiful daughter," he said softly, before reaching a hand out to clasp Winter's shoulder. "And Winter, her faithful friend," he added, smiling at the paler of the girls. No, not girls. They were young ladies in their own right.

"We are most relieved to see you, Bail," Winter said.

Ahsoka was glad that Bail had gone straight to Leia, not even sparing a glance her way. She was not looking forward to questions or insinuations her way. Trying not to draw attention, she unfolded from her curled-up place on the cushion and went to leave, to give the others time alone. She probably needed to go check on Ana -- on _Vader_! -- anyway.

"Father," Leia breathed, relief coursing powerfully through her, and she had to pull him into another embrace. He was here, Lord Vader was not immediately at his heels, and for a moment she wanted to just bury her head against his broad shoulder and let her shaken nerves get the better of her. She would not, she would _not_... but oh, it was a close thing. "Is everything really... all right?" 

Bail held her close, aware of motion, but Winter was not reacting, so he just let himself focus on Leia more. He brought his hand up to pet along her braids, beyond words for how he felt to know, truly know, she was safe and he still had access to her.

"It is as good as it can be," Bail said. "Many systems are still directly under Imperial control, but we did our best to break them up, with which ones we targeted. Several Moffs are still at large, but the majority of the Core is free again," he told her. "Lord Vader has a sizable portion of the Fleet under his direct control, and there is reason to hope that some of those systems will come willingly into the new Republic we create once we establish that we mean to move forward, not fixate on the past."

Leia nodded, breathing out a quiet, relieved sigh, her arms staying wrapped around her father as she listened. "The HoloNet -- well, I'm sure you know better than I do, never mind. But since that's been my only source of information all morning, I've had no idea what to believe. 

"I'm... I don't know. Amazed, thrilled, stunned? I thought we would be at this another decade, at least, not -- not this. And for _Vader_ to have..." 

Bail tensed some, but then forced himself to relax. "I could not believe it either, Leia. When he came to me with his willingness, and worked out the plan that would allow our forces to get through, I was overwhelmed. Mon Mothma thought I'd lost my mind, to be honest." He gave a wry laugh. "So did I, but we have it… we have the chance to build a better Republic now."

Leia studied his face, the tension she could so clearly feel in him, and took a breath, watching his dark eyes. "Of everyone... why you? And what... what pushed him to this choice, Father, do you know?" 

Bail had tried, all his life, not to lie to her, save that one about her parents. He looked at her, looked to Winter, and then took a deep breath.

"You know, my beautiful, brave, strong Leia, that I and your mother have loved you all your life, yes?" he asked her softly.

"Of course I do, Father," Leia answered, holding on to him tighter. "You are the only parents I have ever known, nor could I ever ask for better." 

There might have been a shift among the Noghri at those words, and Bail felt even more uncomfortable. However, Leia needed to know why she was at the center of the storm.

"He met you, and, through some means I don't understand, figured out who your birth parents were," Bail told her. "I told him your mother had been a dear friend… but that was not enough, and I had to admit the truth I have kept from everyone all these years, Leia. Your parents were not just any refugees seeking asylum on Alderaan. You are the child of two war heroes… one a warrior, and the other very much a politician I admired and respected."

What? 

Leia blinked at him for a moment, shocked, and shook her head slightly. That matched with what Miss Tano had said, that Vader knew who her parents were, and had felt some kind of obligation there. That she was the entire reason for this sudden change, for the altered behavior of a man that had terrified the galaxy for her entire life, still made no sense. 

There was more, there had to be more, but... there were also strangers all around them. "War heroes?" she asked, soft and startled. Unless they had been on the side of the Empire, she would have thought Vader would more want to see her dead than protected -- but if they had been on the side of the Empire, her father would not have respected them, even one of them. "You're not telling me everything, Father... but all right.

"I -- I think I want a very stiff drink. That's hardly the way I wanted to make a difference in the Empire's myriad offenses... and yet." 

Bail took her by the shoulders, leaning down to meet her eyes clearly. "This is not your mark, Leia. Your mark will be helping guide the new Republic. You are Alderaan's Senator now, and you will be a good one. I have faith in you."

Winter nodded emphatically to that. At least the Noghri seemed to settle, as she watched them out of the corner of her eye. "I doubt your part in how this came about, Leia, will ever be public knowledge. We move forward now, from this unexpected point, with many new challenges to face."

Leia nodded, bolstered by her father and foster-sister's faith in her, in her ability to make a difference in the _Senate_ , where she wanted to, where her beliefs and her actions could change things for people, not just some... accident of birth that had somehow swayed Darth Vader to aiding her cause. "Thank you. Both of you. 

"Father... did you ever know a woman called Fulcrum?" 

Bail jerked as if struck by those words. "Yes," he said, in a guarded tone. "She was instrumental in the early Rebellion's successes, and a very good friend."

Winter's ears perked at that. Yet, she'd noticed the way Ahsoka Tano had made her way out without bringing attention to herself. Why? Guilt? Wariness?

Leia's arms wrapped back around her father as he jerked, the pain in his eyes seeming to ripple out into her, and she made a soft, soothing noise, looking at him. "...she's here," she told him softly. "She -- I think Vader had her imprisoned somewhere, from her tones... but I also don't know what to believe. 

"But if you knew her... maybe you will." 

Bail listened to all his daughter said, before he moved a little away from her so he could actually pace to exercise some of his worry and shock. "That he didn't…" He kept himself from saying 'kill her', and put that against the amazing events of the past ten-day. To know who wore that mask, to see him upset the very thing he created for the sake of a daughter he'd not known of, to know he had spared his own student… Was it possible that Vader had not been so much his own entity at the time the Clone Wars ended?

"I am relieved to know she survived," he told Leia. "And I hope to meet her." Could he tell if the Togruta had become corrupted by the Dark Side? Did it matter at this point, if it meant they had gained their victory? He winced to even think that, remembering the child-soldier, the friend he, and Padmé before him, had tried to shelter from what they could of the war, the impertinent and sassy Padawan of the Hero with No Fear.

She had belonged to the Rebellion, heart and soul.

Seeing her father pace, hearing the mingled relief and ache in his voice... if Ahsoka Tano wasn't still part of the Rebellion, she was going to regret still being here. She didn't move to intercept him, let him pace, waited until he stopped. "I don't know when she left, she was here a minute ago…"

"She slipped out when you were hugging your father, Leia," Winter said. "Very quietly, as if she did not want to intrude… or possibly to be seen."

Bail wanted to growl at that, but he shook his head and let Leia finish.

Leia glanced at Winter, then her father, and nodded, her head tilting slightly, thinking about that. Was it the first, or the second? Had she wanted to give them privacy, or been worried about what her father would see? 

"I'm not about to chase her... but I hope she comes back soon, wherever she went. It sounds as though you'd really like to see her. Vorkhiron, would you make certain Miss Tano knows she's welcome, when she wants to come back?" 

The Noghri in charge of her security nodded, and took a moment to speak in his own language to one of the others who left them then.

"Her presence here is… startling. We thought her dead after the mission she went on last," Bail said. "The witnesses were certain she could not have made it out. But, it is always unwise to rule out those who had the Force," he admitted. "She was a friend, one I met during the Clone Wars.

"She was a very young Commander then, often assigned to negotiations I went on with… another Senator," Bail said, rather than name Leia's birth mother in this place. Not until he knew what Vader wished on that truth would he speak either of their names. "She left the Order before the Jedi were killed, and escaped the initial purge that way. I was not told why, and when she came to help the Rebellion in its earliest days, I was too thankful for her insights to ask."

"You've never said anything about the Clone Wars," Leia said, after a few moments, comparing that with what Miss Tano had said and finding that it matched, though she glanced at Winter to see what her best friend thought, going on a moment later. "And she said she... had been training to be a Jedi. 'Another Senator'... my parent? The one you respected?" 

Winter had nodded, and continued to listen and observe. 

Bail nodded at Leia's assumption, smiling for her quick wits. "She and Lady Tano were friends, as well, and knew each other even better than I knew either of them. I trusted both, explicitly." That was important, and he stressed it. "Lady Tano brought more experience than most of us Senators possessed on how to run our military actions. 

"She had served directly in the worst of the fighting, with the 501st, and the 212th," he finished, knowing one of those numbers held fear to this day for many.

"With _Vader's Fist_?" Leia asked, alarm flashing through her all over again... but no, her father had trusted her, believed in her -- wait. _Wait_. That comment about a legacy of freedom... "So she knows exactly who my birth parents were, too. She didn't just mean you and Mother. And neither of you will tell me -- I've never really wondered, but I suddenly find that I want to know!" 

"I may not tell the secret I was entrusted with," Bail told her, stopping that line. "Lady Tano is likely bound as well, by honor if not a direct promise."

"I am," the woman in question said, as she had not gone too far; Vader had not felt approachable to her. The Noghri that had gone for her slipped back to a watchful place as she entered the room, coming to stand with her arms crossed across her body in a defensive, almost scared pose.

Winter noted the body-language, put it against 'young commander', and realized this woman had grown up through conflict all her life. 

"Lord Organa," Ahsoka greeted, bowing her head to him slightly.

"Lady Tano," he greeted, taking in all the ways she did and did not meet his memories of her. Those injuries, swathed in bacta-bandages looked frightening. That she had likely received them fighting alongside Vader … well, she did not have the yellow eyes Kenobi had said were a mark of the Sith.

...wait. She looked... she didn't look enough older. Togruta matured more slowly than humans, yes, but he would swear she looked only a few months older than the last time he had seen her, not years. Sith powers aged one faster, not slower, he knew that from Kenobi and Yoda both, and... 

Leia's teeth gritted as the two oldest people in the room dug in stubbornly about _her_ parentage, and then she went still as she watched the two of them. Lady Tano looked half-frightened, half-defiant, her blue eyes narrowed, and she could almost taste both in the air. 

Then her father moved, stretching out his hands. "Ahsoka," he said this time, soft. "I'm so glad to see you." 

Ahsoka trembled for a moment, then went to him, eschewing his hands to hug him, with the full impact of her former impulsiveness, leaning against his shoulder with her forehead and montrals. "Bail." She was breathing raggedly for a long moment, before she could grasp her control again and step back, now taking his hands. "I am so glad to see you alive and well, old friend!" 

Winter had actually blinked in surprise at that demonstrativeness, while filing it into the growing picture she was building of this entire mystery.

This... this was the girl/woman he remembered, and Bail breathed a sigh of relief. He was startled when she pulled back so quickly, and he tugged her in closer, if she would let him. "I'm quite well, yes. But you -- frankly you look terrible, dear friend. And _don't_ say I've seen you look worse, I don't need to be reminded." 

"Well, you have," Ahsoka said impudently, smiling a little. "Your daughter and her handmaiden took care of me, once I had made it down here," she added, settling close since he had offered. It felt… reassuring, to know he did not hold her actions against her.

Winter's ears caught that appellation for herself, and wondered at it. She'd heard that term before… and her memory gave her a surprising vector for it.

"Of course they would," Bail agreed, glad to feel her shift into the contact. He had noted a tendency, in those pulled by the Dark Side, to avoid any touch or even gesture that did not hold pain or ulterior purpose. That she was still her impulsive, generous, affectionate self was reassuring. "And I'm sure they did an excellent job, as well."

'Handmaiden'? Leia mouthed the word at Winter, moving closer to her and not looking at the two who were apparently forbidden from explaining what she needed to know. Lady Tano, if she had been imprisoned as Leia thought, needed comfort and reassurance, and her father had always been good at that. 

Winter mouthed back 'Sabé' at her to see if that would be enough to jog Leia's memory. Their governess had trained them in so much, and specifically mentioned that being a handmaiden to her Queen was why she knew so many skills on costuming, fighting, infiltration, and other things that seemed a far stretch for a governess.

"Of course they did, as they grew up with you as a mentor. And whomever you found to guard them," Ahsoka said, curious on that part, but not pressing, if it needed to stay secret.

Bail hummed, amused, and said only, "The best woman I could think of for the job, Ahsoka." With him still uncertain about Vader's reasons for not already telling Leia, not already trying to win her over, he wasn't about to risk Sabé to that monstrous temper. 

Leia's head cocked, her eyes narrowing a little, as she tried to place why Winter would mention their governess, now happily retired from the position (so that she could spend more time traveling and organizing the Alliance)... she envied Winter's memory, sometimes, but also thought she would completely lose her mind with that much information in it at all times. Sabé, what about Sabé was Winter remembering?

Suddenly it clicked, and her eyes went wide. Sabé had been handmaiden to a Queen, once. 

'The best woman'... and Bail would not name her. Ahsoka wondered which of Padmé's dear friends had survived those turbulent days and made it to Bail for sanctuary. She had never sought them out, barely knowing them, but she had heard Padmé speak so highly of them all.

"You have to be curious…" Ahsoka said, guiding Bail to sit down. "I was … we'll say a guest, on the planet that the Noghri came from. When Vader came and apprised me of what was to happen, and why, I was not exactly going to say no. And… he needed me." Her anger over the suit came back, sparking in her eyes. "I am not at peace with any of this, except that Sith filth's death. And learning you are alive."

"I wasn't going to push, Ahsoka," Bail answered her, having settled where she nudged him to. "You always spoke in your own time. 'Noghri'... that's the name of the race of these people? Thank you." 

That 'he needed me' -- of all people in the galaxy, Ahsoka Tano would care least what Darth Vader needed. What Anakin Skywalker needed, on the other hand... could make her move worlds. He was just stunned that there could be anything left of the man he'd respected and trusted inside that monstrous shell and raging fury. "Of course you wouldn't say no, not with all of that. I'm glad to know I still rate so highly in your estimation."

Ahsoka dropped her eyes in shame for a long moment, before looking up with her shoulders squared, lekku twitching at all of her agitation. "Maybe I hold some things too close, Bail… but for a moment, yes, _he_ needed me." She then sniffed disdainfully. "Vader was over-matched --" and she bared her teeth at the shifting Noghri for just a moment, defiant as always "-- by that piece of rancor waste. That I was there, probably made the difference.

"Especially as Vader specifically set the battle so he took the worst of the offense, letting me work around them, cutting in and low, like --" She cut the 'we used to' off, leaving Bail to hear it in her silence.

"I'd forgotten what it was like, having you Force-users around to hear half the things I wasn't planning to say," he told her, soft and wry, as he wrapped his arm around her ribs. That let him carefully tug her into a supportive embrace as he nodded slowly. "It's a ten-day for hope, old friend," he told her, at yet more confirmation that there was something of Anakin left inside there, "not for -- " 

The faint shudder through the building, the barely-heard sound of... concussion grenade?… had him shifting to release her and get to his feet. 

She was up and moving just as swiftly, running for the exit. "Trust the Noghri," she called back to the girls, having decided they were firmly committed to that which Vader wished safe. She was already pulling her lightsabers; Vader had said she could have them, and like kriff she was going into battle with a blaster now!

She had the lead on Bail, but didn't move so fast as to lose him. The Tower was definitely under attack as they got to an exterior walkway, and Vader was moving to defend himself. Ahsoka took the time to taste the crowd's mood; were they afraid and attacking their long time menace? Or were these actual enemies of the new order they were establishing, brought here seeking vengeance for the Emperor and his ways?

She flashed her concern at Vader, an instinctive reach for her one-time Master that she would later both hate herself for and use as more evidence that _Anakin_ existed in there.

The flavor of the crowd, the armament all weighted heavily toward an organized strike against the Emperor's killer, and Vader's impatient reply to her confirmed it. Knowing that, knowing these were legitimate enemies of the New Republic freed her from restraint.

"Imperials!" she told Bail moments before throwing herself into combat, wading through to find the ringleaders. For this, she used the honed skills that the clone troopers had taught her, patterns of movement and observation that showed where the leaders were. Vader, even better at that, was moving into the mass as well, while his Noghri formed a unit of unstoppable ferocity that Bail was well able to work within. His blaster accounted for several threats to the side of both Force users, allowing them to focus on the main threat.

++++

Inside the Tower, Leia looked at her guards, fierce and defiant, even as she and Winter picked up blasters for just in case. "Make the screen show us what is going on!" she ordered, unconsciously picking just the right level of superiority to make Vorkhiron comply.

Granted, he wished to know how the battle went as well, and he had the security cameras feed to the Mal'ary'ush's screens, showing the frontal assault… and their defenders.

Leia stared, her free hand sliding for Winter's as she watched Lady Tano, her head shaking as she breathed, "She's _so_ fast..." 

She could barely keep up with the blades, white and gleaming, as the woman almost danced in the melee, and there were moments that gravity seemed optional to her. Nearby, Darth Vader's red blade flashed and spun, somehow precise and erratic all at once. Everywhere, their attackers fell -- and then there was her father! Half behind the Noghri, a blaster in his grip... and she saw it as he shot someone away from Vader's side. 

The screen was silent, none of the sounds coming through, which somehow made it more terrible, more real, not less. 

"Your father, defending Darth Vader, is not something I ever expected to see in my lifetime," Winter said softly, holding onto Leia as much as she was holding on to her. 

The two Force users were converging on the same location, and the fighting around them was intensifying. The Tower didn't seem to be shaking as often from concussives, as the forces outside tried to contend with the counterattack. 

"Neither did I," Leia agreed, her weight shifting slightly with her father's movements. There had to be an end to these invaders soon, didn't there? How many people and droids could someone eager for vengeance have actually gathered? Her fingers flexed on her blaster as another wave appeared from somewhere off the camera. 

A few of the Noghri had fallen, lying still among the larger piles of the attackers, and her heart ached. 

++++

Ahsoka kept dipping into the bond, just to keep track of Vader's movements, whirling and spinning in a deadly dance. She had noticed her presence had caused consternation; dealing with two Force users had not been expected? That thought made her smile wickedly, as she flipped over two opponents, disabling their weapons while still in the air with two separate strikes.

A blaster shot near her told her Bail was still upright, as he took out an assassin droid that had gotten too close as she maneuvered.

Bail realized that the wave was going to overwhelm them all if he didn't get help there, and raised his comm link to his mouth, calling for reinforcements over his encrypted frequencies. How much good it would do remained to be seen.

The numbers were against them, but Ahsoka could feel trying to negotiate was not going to get them anywhere. These people wanted Vader dead, probably under the belief that if he went down, the new government would lose its star player. She was growing desperate, as the suit was not actually up to this, and Vader had taken so much damage just the day before. She needed to find a way -- 

\-- and what she had feared slammed through her, as a blast got through Vader's defenses in a press of numbers. He reacted on instinct, throwing out a massive Force push that temporarily cleared the space around him and left bodies broken. Ahsoka didn't hear her own scream of defiance, moving before she even knew it to somersault into that space and take up a defensive position in front of him. 

//You do _not_ get to die on me now!// screamed over the bond, before she was fighting for herself and him both.

Bail's blood ran cold at that scream, hearing open rage in it and knowing the danger of that... but all he could do was try to pick off their enemies faster and call again for backup to hurry. 

//Stubborn brat,// Darth Vader replied, communicating through the Force orders of magnitude easier than trying to speak, and he used the mouth controls to attempt to get back up. But red warnings were everywhere in the HUD, systems re-crippled by the blast. At least none of his implanted bio-mechanical organs were showing in the displays... yet. //I have no plans on dying today.//

He could not be sure that his angel's daughter would be safe if he died... and his right hand and arm were still perfectly functional. Behind the shield of her body and 'sabers -- and why was she bothering -- he could block anything still coming towards him. 

The former Senator of Alderaan was suddenly, viciously reminded of how the Jedi, despite being spread so thin, had managed, with their clones, to hold so many systems free, to retake them, often against overwhelming odds as Ahsoka Tano proved she was very much in her prime, ignoring her previous injuries to leap up, over, and land behind the line that had advanced… seemingly leaving Vader behind. 

That one, however, was blocking and deflecting capably, and Bail turned his attention to helping that area out, because his friend was moving far too fast for him to be able to aim around her. The Noghri were starting to leave him behind, pushing to get to their Lord. It meant he had to move too, and so he could not see the target Ahsoka had chosen to go after.

++++

Leia had thought the woman was fast before. Now she was almost too fast to see, a dervish of blue and white and red and light that held the suddenly open space against everyone coming. 

Winter, watching it all, saw the same thing Ahsoka had found, a flash of a white uniform in among the Fleet officers that had been the original target for both Force Users. That was an Admiral, at least, and she was half-impressed that they had come to the battle. If Lady Tano could capture or kill him, some of the fighters might surrender immediately.

"Sweet stars," Leia breathed, watching in awe, wishing she could do something and aware the worst thing she could do was attempt to join **that** fight, "what _is_ she?" 

"How is she doing that?" Winter asked, having been incapable of believing any of the whispered stories about Jedi abilities. They defied the rational world in all ways.

++++

More of his Noghri had reached Vader, wisely taking up positions half-behind him where he could deflect fire from them, firing back from their lower positions to devastating effect. And there, behind him, was Organa, his mind more open than it had been in years and... focused on his defense? 

What was _wrong_ with these two? 

Distant noise told Bail hope was on the horizon. It was probably only a small squad, but any help, coming from behind this force, would help drastically. 

The Admiral was surrounded by good, capable men, but Ahsoka Tano was a force of nature itself, wanting to stop this fight before any more men had to die. Her lightsabers worked around her, slicing weapons, hands… and even killing when that was the only option to her, until she had made it to the man in white.

"Surrender," she spit out, eyes blazing with dedication to her cause. The officious looking man aimed his blaster for answer.

++++

"I don't know, Winter," Leia answered, stunned. "I just don't."

She watched as Lady Tano parried the blaster bolt directly back into the man's body -- she should know that face, she'd learned the names of the Admirals, it was... Ozzel. Even as she placed him, he fell, and blaster fire started from behind the wave of attackers. The first of those came into view, and Leia breathed a sigh of relief. Those uniforms, she knew well, and trusted more. 

Her father's people were here. 

++++

The fight was not quite over, but with the Admiral down, several of the other officers disabled or dead, and an organized set of fighters coming in, it would not take much more. Ahsoka did not give in to the trembling that threatened to overcome her for pushing her non-existent reserves, fighting her way back toward Vader.

The arrival of his own people had Bail more than optimistic, even as he paid close attention to his own safety until the fight was firmly won. His last view of the two Force users, before he took charge of the surrendering forces and clean-up, was of Ahsoka in front of the Sith Lord, reaching to see if she could help him up.

//Force be with us, that something actually reaches the good man he was,// Bail whispered in his heart. Such a thing would help them secure their future against many threats.


End file.
